Senior Director, Tax Controversy & Strategy

Location: St. Louis, Missouri

Working Model: Onsite, 5 days per week

Base Salary: $162,400 – $223,300

Incentives: Bonus + long-term incentive eligible

The Opportunity

A large, multinational consumer products organization is seeking a Senior Director, Tax Controversy & Strategy to join its North American tax leadership team.

Reporting directly to the VP of Tax, this position will lead federal tax controversy and audit defense while playing a significant role in shaping and governing domestic tax planning initiatives.

The role will have responsibility for audit strategy, risk assessment, technical position development, and interaction with tax authorities, while partnering extensively across Tax, Legal, Finance, Treasury, and the wider business.

This is an excellent opportunity for a senior tax professional with deep U.S. federal tax expertise who enjoys operating at the intersection of tax controversy, planning, transactions, and strategy.

Key Responsibilities

Tax Controversy & Audit Leadership

• Lead federal tax controversy strategy, including IRS examinations, appeals, and other federal tax authority interactions.
• Develop and execute audit defense strategies for material tax positions and transactions.
• Oversee responses to Information Document Requests (IDRs), examination inquiries, and technical challenges.
• Manage external tax advisors, legal counsel, and subject-matter experts supporting controversy matters.
• Assess tax risks, potential settlements, and litigation considerations.
• Keep senior tax leadership informed of significant developments and potential financial implications.

Tax Planning & Governance

• Partner with the Tax Strategy team to evaluate domestic tax planning opportunities.
• Assess proposed transactions from a controversy, sustainability, and audit-defense perspective.
• Ensure significant planning initiatives have appropriate factual development, technical analysis, and contemporaneous documentation.
• Establish strong governance standards around technical memoranda, business-purpose documentation, and audit readiness.
• Balance tax efficiency with long-term defensibility and risk management.

Technical Tax Leadership

• Provide technical leadership on complex U.S. federal income tax matters.
• Advise on restructurings, financing arrangements, acquisitions, dispositions, and other strategic transactions.
• Review and challenge technical analyses prepared internally and by external advisors.
• Develop and defend tax positions supported by relevant legislation, administrative guidance, and judicial authority.
• Monitor legislative, regulatory, and enforcement developments and advise leadership on emerging risks and opportunities.

Cross-Functional Leadership

• Partner with Tax Operations to ensure planning positions and controversy outcomes are appropriately reflected in tax returns and financial reporting.
• Collaborate with Legal, Finance, Treasury, and senior business stakeholders on material transactions and tax matters.
• Mentor and develop tax professionals across the broader tax organization.
• Influence best practices around tax governance, controversy management, and operational execution.

Candidate Profile

• Deep expertise in U.S. federal corporate income tax, tax controversy, and IRS examination processes.
• Significant experience managing large corporate IRS examinations, appeals, and complex controversy matters.
• Strong background in domestic tax planning, transaction structuring, and technical tax analysis.
• Experience operating within a large multinational corporate environment and/or advising similarly complex organizations.
• Proven experience preparing and reviewing technical memoranda, audit-defense files, and supporting documentation.
• Strong understanding of how tax planning interacts with compliance, provision, and financial reporting.
• Ability to lead complex, high-stakes projects and influence senior stakeholders.
• Strong executive presence with excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Track record of partnering effectively across Tax, Legal, Finance, Treasury, and business functions.
• Experience coaching and developing tax professionals.

Education & Credentials

• Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, Finance, Law, or related discipline.
• CPA, JD, MST and/or LLM in Taxation strongly preferred.

Systems & Technical Skills

• Experience with major tax research platforms and tax technology tools.
• Strong Excel, PowerPoint, and data-analysis capabilities.
• Familiarity with large-scale ERP environments such as SAP or comparable systems.

Why This Role

• Senior leadership position reporting directly to the VP of Tax.
• Ownership of significant federal tax controversy and IRS audit strategy.
• Broad exposure across controversy, planning, M&A, restructurings, and strategic transactions.
• Opportunity to influence the organization’s approach to tax risk and governance.
• Significant interaction with Legal, Finance, Treasury, and senior business leadership.
• Opportunity to mentor and influence tax professionals across a sophisticated multinational tax function.
• Competitive compensation with annual bonus and long-term incentive eligibility.

Compensation & Benefits

• Base salary: $162,400 – $223,300
• Annual bonus eligibility.
• Long-term incentive eligibility.
• Medical, dental, and vision coverage.
• 401(k) with company matching contributions.
• Life and disability insurance.
• Parental leave and additional wellbeing benefits.

Working Arrangement

• Based in St. Louis, Missouri.
• Five days per week onsite.

Equal Opportunity

The hiring organization is committed to providing equal employment opportunities and reasonable accommodations to qualified applicants in accordance with applicable law.

The SR Group (UK) Limited is acting as an Employment Agency in relation to this vacancy.